SINGAPORE – In a move to help young people transition from school to working life, over 900 job openings will be made available in 2023 for youth who have just completed their national service or recently graduated from institutes of higher learning.
The vacancies are from 114 companies in sectors such as wholesale trade, tourism and hospitality, professional services, logistics, healthcare, food services, retail, aviation and aerospace, construction, financial services and education. Eligible job seekers can start applying for these vacancies through a career starter lab portal from Sept 1.
This is part of a pilot career starter lab programme announced in May. Developed by the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and the Singapore National Employers Federation, it aims to provide youth with workplace mentorship and structured training.
The initiative comes after the insights gathered from the NTUC Youth Taskforce’s (YTF) engagement with youth and stakeholders that started in July 2022.
Among other things, the task force found that the top three concerns of youth on stepping into the workforce are whether they will be able to achieve work-life balance, their ability to adapt at work, and whether they can decide on their career paths without being limited by the expectations of others.
YTF spoke to more than 10,000 young people aged between 17 and 25 about the challenges they face and their concerns and aspirations in their career progression, financial adequacy and mental well-being.
The respondents came from various institutes of higher learning, such as the Institute of Technical Education (ITE), polytechnics and autonomous universities. The engagement was through mediums such as surveys, roadshows, dialogues and focus group discussions.
A lot in the world has changed, with some of the changes being macro ones like the Covid-19 pandemic and those in the digital world, said NTUC assistant secretary-general Desmond Choo at a media briefing on the task force’s new initiatives.
“This has led to our younger generation having vastly different aspirations,” added Mr Choo, who is chairman of the YTF and adviser to Young NTUC.
As part of the career starter lab programme, young people will have up to three months to try out more than 160 job roles. During this time, they will be paid a training allowance of between $1,800 and $4,200. The three-month period allows them, as well as the firms, to assess their suitability for a job before committing to a full-time position.
The allowance includes career trial support of at least $7.50 per hour for up to 480 hours, which works out to about three months, based on a 40-hour work week.
The young workers will also get a retention incentive of $500 if they are hired by a firm after the trial and continue to work there for at least three months.
NTUC’s pilot career starter lab programme was developed to provide youth with more opportunities to seek clarity in their career navigation.
One of the host companies is video production house Vicinity Studio, which is providing junior roles to help young people enter the media industry. The positions include junior video editor, junior writer and junior producer.
Young people regard mentorship as one of the top resources they need to start their careers, YTF found.
In response to the YTF findings, NTUC will increase the number of career mentors in its Youth Career Network to 1,200 by 2025.
The network has been running since 2017 and has about 400 career mentors, who help young people gain clarity and confidence in their career choices by sharing their own career experiences and giving them advice.
YTF also asked some 2,700 respondents about the top two opportunities they felt would help them the most in gaining real work experience before graduation.
Internships ranked top among the responses (29.3 per cent), followed by career mentorship (19.3 per cent) and part-time work (14.4 per cent).
Salary is the top factor they consider before joining a company, the engagement by YTF found. It was selected by 23.3 per cent of youth respondents.
Other top factors young people consider during their job searches are working environment (16.4 per cent) and work arrangements (15 per cent).
ITE students and graduates surveyed said their median expected starting salary is between $2,500 and $2,999, while those from polytechnics expected a median starting pay of $3,500 to $3,999.
Local university students and graduates surveyed expected a median starting salary between $4,000 and $4,499.
The majority of young people engaged through focus group discussions perceived mental well-being support in the workplace as important (78.7 per cent), but few have seen improvements in the way the workplace and society treat people with mental health issues.
In response, Young NTUC will expand its network of certified peer supporters in workplaces to encourage a culture that destigmatises mental health issues at work. By 2025, NTUC plans to have 2,500 peer supporters trained, up from more than 1,000 now.
NTUC will also launch the NTUC Starter membership, designed to serve the needs of youth aged 18 to 25 transitioning from school to working life. The membership will be on a fully digital platform. More details will be shared on Friday at YTF’s symposium held at the Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre.
“Younger Singaporeans are the future of Singapore. It’s important that we support them in their journey so that all of them can fulfil the aspirations and potential that they have,” said Mr Choo.
